Ipsos MORI poll on global attitudes to immigration

In June 2012, Ipsos MORI published the results of a global poll of 24 countries on attitudes to immigration included nine EU member states.

In seven of them, the majority of those surveyed regard immigration as having had a negative impact on their country; Sweden and Poland are the only exceptions.

A majority of citizens in France (64%), Belgium (62%), Italy (62%), Sweden (59%), Spain (54%) and Germany (51%) favour the reintroduction of border controls in the Schengen zone, while citizens of Britain, a country not even in Schengen, are the most in favour (74%) of increased controls on the Continent.

Among those who support the reintroduction of border controls in the Schengen zone, 51% of Europeans surveyed do so to control immigration and 42% support controls to improve security.

Among those who oppose border controls, 71% do so because they see freedom of movement as a right of membership of the European Union.